OPI Shim-Merry Chic

Hello all!  I'm currently in NY visiting family for the holidays, but since we have a bit of down time, I thought I would post a polish I wore recently (if you consider Thanksgiving recently). 

Shim-Merry Chic was released last year as part of OPI Holiday Wishes collection (and therefore I'm not sure if it's still available anywhere).  It's a brown with bronze/gold shimmer plus FLAKIES!.  I love this because it's not like anything else I have.  I wore it this year over Thanksgiving...I thought it was the perfect fall color.  My only complaint was the dry time was TERRIBLE.  I put it on at 4pm on a Sunday, and woke up the next morning with sheet marks!  I haven't had that problem in quite some time.

I have some pictures on my memory card that I'll try and post here and there while we're home, but as you know, family comes first, so I'm not going to promise anything.  :-)

I want to wish all of my readers a Happy Holiday!!!  Thanks for visiting here and reading my ramblings and looking at my mediocre pictures...I appreciate each and every one of you!

See you soon!!!!  :-)

Rescue Beauty Lounge - Housewives of Tudor England

When I found out about this collection back in July, I was pumped!  I LOVE Tudor history...especially anything to do with Henry the VIII's wives.  The collection is inspired by the wives of Henry VIII and the iridescent thread of the brocade fabrics they wore.
Anne Boleyn has always been a favorite of mine, I loved watching The Tudors when it was on, and I even frequent a blog about Anne Boleyn.  The collection has four polishes named and styled after four of Henry's wives.  He had six wives, but the four in the collection were the four that did not fare so well in their marriage to him. 

Catherine

Catherine is named after Henry's first wive, Catherine of Aragon.  He was married the longest to her and had one child, Mary I (Bloody Mary) with her.  As she aged, and it was obvious she would never bear him a make heir, he grew tired of her.
The polish is a dusty purple with pink, blue, purple, and gold shimmer.  My camera made this *slightly* warmer than it is in real life, but it's actually not too far off.

Anne

As I said before, Anne Boleyn has always been a favorite of mine.  She's gotten a bad rap throughout history, and it's just recently where some of the myth's about her have been dispelled.  RBL's website even calls her a sorceress.  She was not.  She did, however, have A LOT of enemies in her time.  Henry left Catherine of Aragon for her, plus she was very prominent during the reformation of the Catholic church in England.  In the end, she was charge with treason (completely trumped up charges I might add) and beheaded.  She gave Henry one child, Elizabeth I.  I always think it amazing that the woman who was demonized in her time gave birth to one of England's greatest monarchs!
Anne is my favorite polish in this collection.  It's so beautiful!  It's olive green with gold and fuchsia/pink shimmer.  I have a feeling it will end up in my top 20 polishes!

Jane

Jane is named after Jane Seymour, Henry's third wife.  It is said that she was his favorite...possibly because she gave birth to his one and only son, Edward I.  Throughout history Jane was portrayed as a meek, mild woman.  Actually, she was probably as conniving as Anne, just a bit more subtle about it.  Henry was betrothed to Jane the day after Anne was executed.  Tragically, Jane died from complications just two weeks after the birth of her son.
The nail polish Jane, is a putty color with a very subtle gold/slight green shimmer.  My pictures are kind of crappy, so I do apologize.  My middle fingernail had a bubble, and I smudged that same nail.  But I did like that I caught some of the shimmer.  It's MUCH easier to see in the bottle than on the nail.  This is totally a color that I normally wouldn't go for, but once I put it on I was able to appreciate how pretty it is!

Catherine H

I don't know as much about Catherine Howard as I do about the other wives of Henry VIII.  She was his fifth wife and very young when they were married.  They did not have any children together, although it is said that he really was in love with her.  He was probably in love with her youth...but unfortunately it was that youth that was her downfall.  She was convicted of treason (pretty much she cheated on him) and met the same unfortunate fate as Anne Boleyn.
The color of this polish is really pretty.  It's wedgewood blue with purple/blue/pink shimmer.  You see the shimmer more in the bottle as it gets lost a bit on the nail though.

The formula and pigmentation on these, like any RBL polish, was phenomenal.  These could all have been 2-coaters if I was a bit more careful when applying.  I used 3, but I tend to use VERY thin coats. 

What do you all think of this collection?  I do like every polish in it.  Anne, is of course, my favorite.  I think I like Catherine H SLIGHTLY more than Catherine, and then Jane is my least favorite (but still very pretty). 

Thanks for stopping...Have a great Monday!  :)

Icing Money Talks

Just an update on my giveaway - I'll be drawing a name when I get out of work later and will let you all know who won, and contact the winner!  I can't wait to see who won!!!!!

Icing Money Talks was release MANY years ago and I've been wondering why I was just swatching it now!

Money Talks is similar to Wet N Wild Morbid, which I just talk about this week as well.  It's a black base with green shimmer...the difference is Morbid has more a pearl look to it, while Money Talk has tiny particles.

This is 4 coats as it's a bit sheer initially.  You could always layer it over black, which I may try next time.

Thanks for stopping by ya'll...let my birthday weekend begin!  (It's actually on Sunday)!  :)  Have a great weekend!

Wet N'Wild Craze: Morbid

When these came out last summer, Scrangie swatched the entire collection on her blog.  MADE ME FALL IN LOVE.  Of course, most of the time when she swatches something I fall in love.  I didn't pick up the entire collection, but I did get most of it.  Up until these came out, I hadn't used Wet n Wild polish since I was a teenager...a LOOOOONG time ago. 

Morbid is a black polish with teal shimmer.  I wish I could pick up the color of the shimmer better than I did...it's there though, I promise.

Application was great, these pictures show 3 coats.  Smooth and quite well pigmented.  I never did pick up the Craze that came out this past summer.  First of all, I never even spotted them in my smallish town until about a month ago.  Second of all, while I thought they were pretty...they also seemed like colors that I already have. 
I do believe you can still get Morbid, even though it came out last year.  The last time I was at my Rite-Aid, they were still there.
Remember to enter my Happy Birthday to Me Giveaway!  It ends on Wednesday!!!!  Thank you to everyone who has already entered!

Orly Royal Navy

Today is the last day of teacher workdays.  Tuesday we have students.  Even though this will be my 7th first day of school, I STILL get nervous.  lol  My in-laws are coming in today as well.  This means that I will not be allowed to touch and/or care for my children in any way, shape or form for the entire weekend.  Can you tell that my MIL stresses me a bit?

I've been looking for Royal Navy for a long time.  I found it when I was at Ulta with my mother this summer. 

It's such a ME color....blue and PRETTY shimmer.  I had a bit of a wonky brush, so it was hard to apply...other than that, no problems.  Nice three coat coverage.

I don't know if you can tell in these pictures, but it dries more on the satiny side.  I didn't use top coat when I took the picture, but to wear this as a full mani, I definitely would.

Thanks for stopping by...wish me luck this weekend!   ;-)

Chi Sultry Nights

First Monday back to work.  K ended up with pink eye over the weekend and I thought for sure that today I would have to try and entertain a 19 month old while getting my room ready for the school year.  Luckily we have probably 18 bottles of drops at home, since the boys get it so much at daycare.  He woke up this morning looking MUCH better.

Another Chi polish!  Sultry Nights is a dark, dark blue with a bit of shimmer.  In certain lights it could even be mistaken for black.  I bought this WAAAAY back in 2007!

I used 3 coats in these pictures.  It's so highly pigmented that I could have gotten away with 2 thicker coats, though.  I didn't do that because I have a problem with this one bubbling.  I have to be careful to use really thin coats and give them a minute to dry before I apply more.

You're able to see a bit of the shimmer in this shot. 

My birthday is coming up next month, and I thought it would be fun to do a little giveaway for it.  It took me some time to come up with something, but I made a surprising find the other day, so hopefully you all will enjoy it when I post it!

Thank you so much for taking the time to stop by.  I appreciate all of my readers!

Chanel Paradoxal

Well...here it is!  Any of you who follow me on twitter witnessed my excitement when I bought this.  I think I was more surprised that I found more than anything.  I know you've seen picture after picture of this...but you know what...I'm posting it anyway!  :)

Other this, I only have one other Chanel nail polish (Kaleidoscope).  I have a problem paying $20+ for nail polish, but I kept seeing more and more pictures of this and wanted it more and more.  I went into Macy's (and hour away from me) and figured, well if they even have it, I'll think about it.  I stood there looking at their nail polish display and there was no Paradoxal.  I was with my cousin and my boys at the time...I was about to walk away when the Chanel lady said "oh we have these as well".  I looked at my cousin and told her that I was weak....as soon as I found out they had it, I knew I would get it.  lol

You can see some of the purple shimmer in the bottle in the bottom picture.  And that's how it looks on your nails in the sunshine...inside it's a dark taupe and you don't see the shimmer at all.  In this next picture I used my flash to capture it...sorry for the washed out looking picture:

I found this a little hard to apply.  The brush seemed like it didn't want to listen to me and the formula was thicker that I would like.  I ended up using 3 coats to get even coverage, but they were three THICK coats.
In other news, I used Nubar Diamont top coat for the first time with this mani.  So far I really like it.   I felt it dried really quickly and it didn't give me the shrinkage that Seche Vite (my HG) does.  I'm going to give it some time and decide whether or not I'm going to switch...don't want to be too hasty about these things!

Well, this was the last full week of my summer vacation. What a busy week too. Tuesday we had some friends over for a bbq and video games...they were my husband's friends obviously, and yesterday we drove to Richmond to take the kids to see the Wiggles. They were so cute! My youngest, K, sat on Daddy's lap and danced to every song.  My oldest, R, was in awe of the whole experience. Next week, the kids will be back at daycare, and then on Thursday I go back to school. Teachers report on Thursday, but we don't get students until after Labor Day...so it won't be too bad yet. Hehe.

Thanks for stopping by!

Sinful San Francisco

First off, I have to say, excuse my nubbins.  I mentioned the other day that in the craziness of doing the fair last week that I quite honestly just didn't take very good care of my nails.  They're very prone to splitting and breaking if I'm not constantly taking care of them.
I had heard so much about Sinful nail polish, but was never able to get them because we don't have a Walgreens in my little boondock-ish town.  Imagine my surprise one day when I walked into Rite-Aid and found a big display!  I was so caught off guard that I didn't even know which ones to get.  I ended up picking the one I had heard the most about, San Francisco.

This picture makes it look like it's a blue-based green, but it's not.  In my opinion it's more yellow-based...but leaning towards just pure green.  This picture is more accurate:

I needed 4 coats to get even coverage.  It was kind of streaky up until that point.

What do you have planned for your weekend?  The hubby is going on a man-date with some friends to see The Expendables, so his cousin wants to go shoe shopping with me.  I've never been a shoe shopper...bring me to a make-up store and I'm in heaven though...LOL

Have a great weekend!

OPI Russian Navy

Hello all...happy Monday!  Today is my parents 35th anniversary...WOW!  You go mom and dad!  On the downside, it would have also been the anniversary of a couple that the hubby and I are friends with, but they are currently going through a divorce.  It's so sad to watch, but they both seem really happy and at peace with the decision, so I guess that's all we can hope for. 

Onto less depressing discussion...

I was digging around my untried box (or ONE of my untried boxes) and found this baby.  I can't believe that I've never worn it!!  I love blue for crying out loud!  This is such a DARK blue, but not one of those dark blues that would be mistaken for black.

Russian Navy was released in fall/winter 2007 in the Russian Collection.  It's a very dark navy blue, but with tiny blue/pink/purple shimmer.  In the right light you can see the sheen of purple.  So pretty!!!  The pigmentation is great, and it applies so SMOOTHLY. 

You'll have to click on these pictures to enlarge them to see the shimmer.  I tried to sharpen these up a bit so you can see it.
Beautiful, don't you think?

Thanks for stopping by!

Chi Out on the Town Brown

Good morning, and happy Monday.  Today is the first day of that fair I was telling you about.  We set up over the weekend, so far so good.  Our only problem is that the building we're in is not air conditioned, and we sell wax that melts at very low temps.  Should be interesting.

Chi is another brand of polish that I can only get when I escape from the boonies.  I love it though, and it wears well.  But I only have 3 colors!  :-(

Out on the Town Brown is so not a color that I wear very often...plus it's not very summery.  It is perfect for fall though.  Like I said, I don't wear brown's very often, but when I do wear them, I love them.  It just looks so cool!  It's a nice chocolaty brown.  You need to wear 3 coats though, because it builds and looks really reddish with the first 2 coats.

I hope you all have a great day...wish me luck tonight!

China Glaze Sexy in the City

This is such a pretty blue (leaning toward turquoise) color with a GORGEOUS shimmer.  I picked it up at my local Sally's a little while ago.  It was a *bit* thin and runny, but not impossible.  I'm not sure if this came out with any collection,  per se?  Please someone let me know if I'm wrong, so I can edit that.

I think it's such a pretty spring/summer color, don't you?  Great for pedi's as well.
You need 3 coats for this not to look streaky, which is what I have on in these pictures.  And it does give you smurf fingers when you remove it. 

I really like this color (I'm a sucker for blue), and got quite a few compliments on it when I wore it.  What do you think?  Have a great day everyone!

Sally Hansen Opulent Cloud

I know...it's not out anymore...but I love it so much that I want to post it anyways.  You don't even know what I went through to get this beauty!  I had three people looking in different parts of Virginia, none of us could find it.  I called my sister up in Niagara Falls and asked her to look.  After she laughed because I was asking her to look for nail polish 300 miles away (she just doesn't get it!), she said she'd look.  She couldn't find it.  I then called my MIL and asked her to look...SHE FOUND IT! 
I believe this came out last fall?  Someone correct me if I'm wrong. 

                                            

I'm still looking for optimal lighting conditions to take my pictures in...if I could find the light box I have in the basement I'd be set! 

Anyways...Opulent Cloud *sigh*  It's a pewter/purple color with gold shimmer.  These pictures are 3 coats.

I like this shot because you can really see the gold shimmer.  In case I haven't mentioned it, you can click on my images to see a much larger version.  I try to leave these bigger so that you can see the detail.

Well, happy Monday all....Thanks for visiting!

Sally Hansen Pedal to the Metal

After spotting the limited edition polishes from Sally Hansen's Complete Salon Manicure collection, I actually started looking at their core line.  This one just popped out from the display. 
Pedal to the Metal is a pretty purple/silver frost.  I have to say that I was more impressed with it in the bottle though.  Once I put it on it just didn't look right on me.  It's a frost, and has a tendency to show brush strokes, so you're going to want to be careful about that.

There is a slight shimmer that I only noticed in the bottle.  My camera picked it up in the sunlight, but I didn't really see it.  The brush for the Complete Salon Manicure collection is VERY full and holds a lot of polish.  You have to be very careful when applying that you don't get it all over the place.  I did notice that it was more stiff in Hidden Treasure and therefore easier to use.  I'm not sure of all of the limited edition polishes are like that because I haven't used them yet.

What do you think?  Do any of you have this as well?

Thanks for stopping by...have a great Wednesday!